


a promise everlasting

by aslanjades



Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Ash Lived, Canon Divergence, Fluff, M/M, Max is only mentioned, More Fluff, Oneshot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-19
Updated: 2019-01-19
Packaged: 2019-10-12 12:51:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17467916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aslanjades/pseuds/aslanjades
Summary: As he watches the sunrise with the boy he loves, Eiji prepares to pop the biggest question of them all.





	a promise everlasting

**Author's Note:**

  * For [calditodetae](https://archiveofourown.org/users/calditodetae/gifts).



> I almost abandoned this oneshot, but I decided to finish it for the birthday of someone who deserves the world. Happy (late) birthday, Max!

ASH WAS A HEAVY, HEAVY SLEEPER.

He slept through Eiji pulling back the comforter on the right side of the bed—his designated side—and rising, leaving the bedroom moments after. He slept through Eiji pulling the curtains back (though that was unsurprising, since it was still dark out) and rummaging through the drawer. And he undoubtedly would have slept through the sunrise if Eiji hadn’t started shaking him to wake him up prior. When that method failed, Eiji yanked the blanket off him completely, depriving his limbs of warmth.

“Eiji,” Ash groaned, putting an arm over his face. For a moment, Eiji stopped and stared at his counterpart, watching the boy who had been through hell and back and made it. Really, seeing him sleep so soundly was beautiful. There was no one after him and nothing to fear. Somehow, they made it out together.

As much as he would‘ve liked to admire his half-sleeping beauty, Eiji couldn’t let himself keep staring. Instead, he reached out and pulled Ash into a sitting position.

“Come on,” Eiji said, unable to hide the smile spreading across his face. Ash’s hair was disheveled, his lips turned down into a pout. He looked younger than he ever had, and it was . . . lovely. In a surefire attempt to get him up, Eiji grabbed the mug he’d set on the nightstand a few minutes earlier and held it out. “I made you coffee.”

Hilariously enough, that was exactly what it took to snap Ash out of his drowsy trance.

“It’s six in the morning,” Ash grumbled, rubbing his eyes with his free hand. 

Opening their bedroom door, Eiji shrugged, still smiling. “I know.”

Despite not knowing what was going on, Ash followed, taking sips of his coffee as his feet pressed against the cold wood floor. He hadn’t even bothered to grab a shirt as he trudged out of the room, and he didn’t seem to care about it anyway. Eiji was tempted to laugh at his drooping eyes and sluggish steps that made him resemble a zombie, bur he managed to bite back the laugh, instead fumbling with the velvet box in the pocket of his sweatpants.

When he opened the door to the study, the first thing his eyes went to was the spot on the floor where he once laid. The feeling of Ash’s body atop him hadn’t yet gone away, the sound of bullets raining into the room still audible. The window had been replaced and bullet holes were no longer in the floor, but every memory was as vivid as ever. Even with the room packed up in boxes that were ready to be shipped across the world.

Ash had nearly laid down his life for him that day—along with countless other times—and there was no doubt that he would do it again and again. Whether Ash knew it or not, Eiji would do the same for him, because they were in love, and it was a beautiful thing.

The thought solidified Eiji’s desire to propose the most definite proof of his love possible. He was more sure than ever that he only wanted to make that vow to Ash, seeing as, at this point, he couldn’t imagine being with anyone else for the long run.

Ash flicked on a lamp that had been left out of the boxes. After the light illuminated the room, he turned around to face Eiji, coffee mug in hand and eyebrows curiously raised.

To answer his unspoken question, Eiji simply said, “Watch the sunrise with me.”

Despite still being tugged down by sleep, Ash’s lips turned up. When Eiji sat in front of the window that stretched the length of the wall, Ash kneeled next to him and leaned his head onto Eiji’s shoulder. He let out a breath, letting his shoulders slump. Relaxing. 

There was a time when he would never let his guard down, even for a second. His relaxation was a sweet surrender, a show of the absolute safety—compared to his previous circumstances, at least—he now felt. Eiji put an arm around Ash, running his fingers through blonde locks.

New York had memories—many blissful, either providing a foundation for their relationship or strengthening it, and many ugly, still haunting them both in their sleep at night. Moving seemed like closing a chapter. Eiji was going home again, and this time with the boy he loved. But as he looked at the silhouette of buildings in the darkness, he couldn’t help but think that New York, in a way, was another home. At the very least, New York _led_ him to another home, and he had to be grateful for that.

Eiji fondly looked down at Ash, who stared out of the window with tired eyes, and pulled him closer. Curiosity getting the best of him, Eiji asked, “Are you going to miss it?”

“Hm?”

“Are you going to miss being here? In New York?” Eiji continued, still lazily playing with Ash’s hair. In response, he initially got nothing more than a contemplative look. Then Ash blinked and turned back towards the window, shrugging.

Voice still groggy, Ash responded, “I think I need a change of pace either way. But no, I won’t miss it too much. I need to get away from here more than anyone. Aside from that, seeing Japan once wasn’t enough. I . . . I want to learn about your home. I want to be there with you for more than just a visit.”

Eiji thought back to Ash’s first visit to Japan, eyes bright as he strolled through the place he only dreamt of reaching. It was mere weeks after recovering from the wound that could have ended his life had he not fought relentlessly for it, the wound that, upon hearing about, made Eiji drop everything and fly back to America. The voicemail with Max’s voice reassuring him that Ash was okay and that they found him clutching his plane ticket remained in Eiji’s phone, a constant reminder that he could have lost him that day.

He couldn’t bear the thought of losing him again.

Eiji felt his heart tighten. “I’d like that a lot.”

And their attention shifted to the horizon, to the sun slowly but surely taking its place in the sky. The dawn proposed the start of a new day, a new beginning . . . exactly what Eiji would do whenever his stomach rested and he was sure his voice wouldn’t quiver. Eiji breathed in and out to steady himself, the ring like a weight in his pocket that he just wanted to let go of.

“Ash,” he finally spoke, twiddling his thumbs. “I really, _really_ want to be with you. I want you to love my home as much as I do. I want to build a life with you and spend the entirety of it in your arms. I’ve had to imagine a life without you before, and I never want that to become my reality. Even if it means we’re just apart.”

Ash looked up, jade eyes gleaming, lips parted, and eyebrows furrowed. He was clearly trying to pinpoint what prompted the words and where, exactly, they were leading.

“I . . .” Eiji paused, sighing to collect his thoughts. “I think coming here and meeting you was the best twist of fate I could have asked for. I didn’t know then, but every passing day made it more clear that I would never find anyone like you. Being with you, no matter how . . . wild our circumstances, has been all I could have asked for. You are the best thing that ever happened to me, Aslan. Truly.

“All those months ago, you asked me to stay by your side. I will never forget those words, and I will never forget the thoughts that raced through my mind that night. I wanted—no—I _want _to stay with you for as long as I live. I want that more than anything, and I always have. Watching the dawn with you is making me realize that I want to watch hundreds and hundreds with you; years down the line, even.”__

__Eiji’s heart thumped as he grabbed one of Ash’s hands and helped him stand. When he did, Eiji looked up at the boy he loved, who stared back at him with shining eyes, a lone tear sliding down his cheek. Eiji immediately wiped it away with the pad of his thumb, smiling._ _

__The world seemed to stop as he bent down, exposed the velvet box, and opened it._ _

__“Ash—Aslan,” Eiji managed to chuckle at his own nervousness, shaking his head at himself. “Aslan Jade Callenreese, would you spend forever with me?”_ _

__Before Eiji knew it, Ash was pulling Eiji up with an alarming urgency and holding him, body shaking with sobs. And as soon as his mind caught up with his body, Eiji wrapped his arms around his soon-to-be fiancé, rubbing his back with his free hand. “I love you, Ash.”_ _

__“Please,” Ash replied, pulling away. He held out his left hand, somehow holding out a piece of his heart with the gesture. Sniffing, he uttered, “That’s not what I’m supposed to say, is it? Yes. A hundred times over—yes.”_ _

__With a shaking hand, Eiji removed the ring from its box and slid it onto Ash’s finger. The perfect ring—a silver band with a jade inlay—looked even better where it belonged, and at the sight, Eiji moved his arms around Ash’s neck and looked up with eyes holding love and fulfillment and decisiveness. Ash, not hesitating for a moment, leaned down and closed the distance between them. He pressed his lips to Eiji’s; quick, at first, then slow, conveying every ‘I love you’ both said and unsaid and previewing those to come._ _

__In that moment, wrapped in his lover’s arms—his _fiancé’s_ arms, Eiji was sure that there was so, so much more to come._ _


End file.
